Monday, January 23, 2012

Major solar storm headed to Earth

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This handout image provided by NASA, taken Sunday night, Jan. 22, 2012, shows a solar flare erupting on the Sun's northeastern hemisphere. Space weather officials say the strongest solar storm in more than six years is already bombarding Earth with radiation with more to come. The Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado observed a flare Sunday night at 11 p.m. EST. Physicist Doug Biesecker said the biggest concern from the speedy eruption is the radiation, which arrived on Earth an hour later. It will likely continue through Wednesday. It's mostly an issue for astronauts' health and satellite disruptions. It can cause communication problems for airplanes that go over the poles. (AP Photo/NASA)

2

The strongest geomagnetic storm in more than six years was forecast to hit Earth's magnetic field on Tuesday, and it could affect airline routes, power grids and satellites.A coronal mass ejection - a big chunk of the Sun's atmosphere - was hurled toward Earth on Sunday, driving energized solar particles at about 5 million miles an hour (2,000 km per second), about five times faster than solar particles normally travel, the center's Terry Onsager said."When it hits us, it's like a big battering ram that pushes into Earth's magnetic field," Onsager said from Boulder, Colorado. "That energy causes Earth's magnetic field to fluctuate."

The Solar Dynamics Observatory captures an M8.7 class flare in a handout photo released by NASA January 23, 2012.

REUTERS/NASA/SDO/AIA/Handout

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This energy can interfere with high frequency radio communications used by airlines to navigate close to the North Pole in flights between North America, Europe and Asia, so some routes may need to be shifted, Onsager said.It could also affect power grids and satellite operations, the center said in a statement. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station may be advised to shield themselves in specific parts of the spacecraft to avoid a heightened dose of solar radiation.

SDO's AIA instrument at 171 Angstrom shows the current conditions of the quiet corona and upper transition region of the Sun as seen in a handout photo released by NASA January 23, 2012.

REUTERS/NASA/SDO/AIA/Handout

4

In this handout from the NOAA/National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center, shows the coronal mass ejection (CME) erupting from the sun late January 23, 2012. The flare is reportedly the largest since 2005 and is expected to affect GPS systems and other communications when it reaches the Earth's magnetic field in the morning of January 24. (Photo by NOAA/National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center via Getty Images)

5

The space weather center said the geomagnetic storm's intensity would probably be moderate or strong, levels two and three on a five-level scale, five being the most extreme.

Text Courtesy : Reuters

 

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/photos/major-solar-storm-headed-to-earth-1327375802-slideshow/#crsl=%252Fphotos%252Fmajor-solar-storm-headed-to-earth-1327375802-slideshow%252Fsolar-storm-photo-1327375749.html

Thursday, January 19, 2012

New, darker portrait of legendary American

BANGKOK (AP) — Forty-five years after vanishing into a jungle without a trace, "Silk King" Jim Thompson remains a daily presence in Thailand: shoppers crowd his elegant stores and the American expatriate's antique-rich residence is one of the capital's top tourist attractions.

Credited with the revival of a now booming silk industry, Thompson attained legendary status, enhanced by a bon vivant lifestyle at a time when Thailand was still truly exotic -- and by his mysterious death. But little has been known about Thompson's intensely political, darker side -- his freelance backing of Asia's insurgencies, clashes with Washington's Cold War warriors and his connections to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, which to this day reportedly refuses to release his complete file.

It's the cloak and dagger stuff, rather than the glitz and glamor, that's the focus of a recent book "The Ideal Man: The Tragedy of Jim Thompson and the American Way of War" by Joshua Kurlantzick, an author on Asian affairs with the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations.

The book provides no new clues about Thompson's vacation walk into a Malaysian jungle in 1967 from which he never returned. Numerous theories, which still continue to pop up from time to time, range from having been eaten by a tiger to abduction by U.S. intelligence agents.

But Kurlantzick says he uncovered a trove of other information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, departments of Defense and State and other U.S. government agencies through the Freedom of Information Act as well as unclassified material available, but mostly untapped, in the National Archives.

From this, emerges a portrait of Thompson as a U.S Army officer in the Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the CIA, who stood ardently behind America's immediate post-World War II policy of championing democracy and ridding the world of colonialism. He believed Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh was a nationalist who should be supported, and almost worshipped Pridi Banomyong, Thailand's pro-democracy statesman.

But Washington executed an about-turn and began to back assorted Asian strongmen and the French in colonial Indochina — "a scurvy race" he called them — on grounds that it was fighting the greater menace of Communism. Thompson became disillusioned and angry.

He was devastated when Pridi was ousted in a coup followed by the killings of many of his followers and a succession of thuggish leaders from the military, which remains a powerful force in Thai politics to this day.

"I wanted to use Jim to broaden the story to Thailand's relations with the United States, and to explore this whole generation of those who had come out of the OSS in World War II and then were pushed out by the Cold War," Kurlantzick said in an interview.

Scion of a wealthy East Coast establishment family, educated at Princeton University, James H. W. Thompson dabbled in architecture and partied in New York before volunteering for the army. A wartime marriage to a beautiful debutante ended in divorce. Serving with distinction in North Africa and Europe, he was about to parachute into Thailand with an OSS team when the war ended.

In Thailand, Thompson became deeply involved with Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese insurgents who used the country as a base in fighting the French, helping to supply weapons and serving as a go-between, often acting without approval from headquarters. Although discharged in 1946, Kurlantzick says Thompson continued to "serve as a de facto intelligence officer," useful to all sides until the radical shift in U.S. policy when he and other colleagues in the OSS found themselves on the "wrong side."

"Jim was an idealist, a romantic, an anti-imperialist and there was no more idealistic time than just after the war," the book quotes a one-time U.S. diplomat, Rolland Bushier, as saying.

America's secret entry into the war in Laos in the early 1960s finally destroyed his vision of "an America that used its power to build democracy in the region, that could distinguish between local grievances and global communism, and that inspired Asians as a liberator, not as a new colonizer."

Like a number of like-minded Americans at the time, Thompson was investigated by the FBI for suspected "un-American activities," and "although Thompson once had been extremely valuable to U.S. intelligence, the agency finally put out a 'burn notice,' on him, warning all employees to stay away from him," the book notes.

By this time, he had started The Thai Silk Company, reviving a largely moribund industry, helping thousands of poor villagers in the process and introducing Thai silk to the world. Dinners at his traditional Thai home, filled with antiques he had collected, became a must-do for visiting celebrities, diplomats, spies and journalists, many of whom described them, and Thompson's personality, as unforgettable.

A number of those who knew him personally have recalled a more optimistic, upbeat individual than portrayed in the book, and almost certainly it isn't his politics which is now remembered by most.

"Jim may have disappeared decades ago but he remains alive today through the legacy of his great silk products, the help his company still gives poor rural folk and through the preservation of Thailand's rich artistic heritage," says William J. Klausner, president of The James H. W. Thompson Foundation, which serves as caretaker of his residence-museum and promotes Thai culture.

Kurlantzick says Thompson was a "multifaceted, generous and foresighted man, but he was in some ways too idealistic, bordering on the naive and it became his downfall in many ways."

Toward the end, aged 61, Thompson felt the hopes of his generation had been dashed, the old Asia he loved was fast becoming too Westernized, and the most passionate love affair of his life, with the wife of an American diplomat, had ended. Like other expatriates, he could never go home again, and yet sensed that he would never become truly Thai.

Perhaps, the book suggests, the real tragedy befell Thompson before his disappearance.

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/darker-portrait-legendary-american-055633210.html

Musharraf may delay return to Pakistan, blames crisis

LONDON/KARACHI (Reuters) - Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday he may delay his planned return home later this month, blaming the country's current instability.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and has been living in Dubai for almost three years, said he was awaiting recommendations from members of his All Pakistan Muslim League party back home.

"Once those recommendations come, I'm going to examine them and then make a decision whether I should return or delay my return," Musharraf said during a visit to London.

Musharraf addressed a rally via video in Pakistan's biggest city and commercial hub, Karachi, last week to announce his plan to return between January 27 and January 30 and take part in parliamentary elections due by 2013.

"There is a serious political and administrative crisis brewing up in Pakistan. It has certain implications as far as my return to Pakistan is concerned," Musharraf told a news conference.

Tension continues to mount against Pakistan's unpopular civilian government which faces pressure from the military over a mysterious memo seeking U.S. help to avert an alleged planned coup last year.

Some media reports said Musharraf, who faces the threat of arrest in Pakistan on charges that he failed to provide adequate security to former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto before her assassination in 2007, will seek Saudi help in obtaining guarantees that he will not be detained.

Musharraf resigned and left the country after his allies lost a parliamentary election in 2008 and the new coalition government threatened him with impeachment. His popularity had plummeted after he became embroiled in a row with the judiciary and briefly imposed a state of emergency in 2007.

(Reporting by Adrian Croft in London, Faisal Aziz in Karachi and Amena Bakr in Dubai; Editing by Nick Macfie and David Stamp)

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/musharraf-advised-delay-return-pakistan-102518553.html

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

22 crore Aakash tablets needed: Govt

New Delhi: The demand for the world's cheapest tablet has gone up as the government has said that it will require an additional 22 crore units of the Aakash tablet.

PTI quoted Additional Secretary, HRD Ministry, N K Sinha saying, "Initially, we bought one lakh Aakash tablets but we need 22 crore more tablets in the coming years as per the Ministry of Human Resource."

"To manufacture Aakash in such large numbers, fresh tenders will be released again and other companies along with Datawind will also get a chance," Sinha told PTI.

Last year, DataWind, the Canadian company that is manufacturing Aakash, delayed delivery of the tablet to 2012.

A spokesperson of Datawind said, "People who have booked the Aakash tablet online will get its delivery in January.” The spokesperson, however, didn't cite any reason for the delay. Earlier the company had said that the Rs 2,500 Aakash tablet will be delivered within seven days of online booking.

DataWind initially said that the Aakash tablet will be available to students only through colleges and schools. However, later it started online booking of Aakash for everyone including students. Besides, DataWind have given only 10,000 Aakash tablets to the government for distribution in schools and colleges of the initial 1 lakh proposed.

There are two versions of the tablet. The original Aakash tablet comes with much lower specifications and is priced at Rs 2,500. Its cousin — named as UbiSlate, is comparatively powerful and is priced at Rs 2,999.

UbiSlate will be powered by Android 2.3 and will have a resistive touchscreen, Cortex A8-700 MHz processor and graphics accelerator HD video processor, 256 MB of RAM and 2 GB of internal memory. Other specifications are - one standard USB port, 3.5 mm audio jack, a 7 inch display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution, resistive touchscreen, GPRS and WiFi support.

On the other hand, the 7 inch screen bearing Aakash tablet has Android 2.2 operating system, Arm11 — 366 Mhz processor, 2100 battery, WiFi and will have support for 3G modem. The price difference between the Aakash and UbiSlate is because the commercially available product will include a cellular modem, allowing it to deliver web access anywhere there is a cellular connectivity, and also to function as a mobile phone. Notably, Internet access on both the tablets across mobile networks will be priced at Rs 99 for 2GB. (With inputs from The Mobile Indian)

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/22-crore-aakash-tablets-needed--govt.html

Congress releases manifesto in Punjab, promises sops to industry

Chandigarh, Jan 16 (ANI): Ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in Punjab, the Congress party is promising help to the industry and the unemployed, if elected to power.

In its election manifesto released on Sunday, the party assured that it would provide electricity and speedier clearances to the firms.

"900 units of our industry have left Punjab. Nobody is coming. Why? One of the reasons is that out of a week, the industry does not get power for three days. We are guaranteeing power. Now till our power is available, we will buy that power from the national grid and we will give it because this is the basic requirement for the industry," said former Chief Minister and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Captain Amarinder Singh.

"Secondly, any new company that wants to enter Punjab has to acquire 14 different clearances from the government. We are doing away with that. We are saying you do self-certification and anything anywhere is required, we are bringing it around into a single window clearance system," Singh added.

Singh, who served as the chief minister of Punjab from 2002 to 2007, also raised the issue of graft while releasing the Congress manifesto and termed the SAD government as corrupt.

"Corruption has been rampant in the state. Since Independence, perhaps this has been the corruptest government at every district. People are feeling the pressure. Nowhere can you go in Punjab, nobody can go and get any work done without paying money. I think the upper level and the Chief Minister downwards should be looking at it. This whole government is corrupt, ministers are being thrown out. You all know who is corrupt and who is not corrupt. On the other side, at the lower level, we want a vigilance commission which functions as a vigilance commission and not as a political tool in Badal's hands," he added.

Punjab is one of five states due to hold elections this year. As per the schedule announced by Election Commission, the state assembly poll in Punjab would be held on January 30.

In Punjab, the main battle is expected to be between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)- Bharatiya Janata Party alliance and the Congress party. Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab and son of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, heads the SAD. (ANI)

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/congress-releases-manifesto-punjab-promises-sops-industry-075235911.html

Capt Amarinder Singh says Parkash Singh Badal did not support development

Amritsar, Jan 19 (ANI): As the political battle intensifies in poll-bound states, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Captain Amarinder Singh has slammed state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and questioned claims of development made during his tenure.

"I have always been saying that whether he can show even one thing of development, if any, has happened." Singh told the media here on Wednesday.

Earlier, Singh accused Sukhbir Singh Badal of 'bribing' the party rebels to go against the Congress.

Singh went on to warn the rebel candidates of serious consequences if they did not heed the Congress party line.

"Unfortunately, Sukhbir Singh Badal has paid money to many of our rebel candidates. The conduit for carrying this money, I say again, has been the vigilance department. Whether Mr. Saini agrees or does not agree it is his business, but we know that and we have already informed the Election Commission. As far as settling the row with the rebels in concerned, it is subject to discipline," he said.

"If they withdraw their nomination papers in a day or two...otherwise, they will be expelled from the party. This time, the party has taken a very stringent view in Delhi, that for five years they will be out, and for the next five years, they will have a cooling off period, they will be given no jobs. So ten...they will have to sacrifice for few hours of pleasure," he added.

Punjab is one of five states due to hold elections this year. As per the schedule planned by Election Commission, the state assembly poll in Punjab would be held on January 30.

In Punjab, the main battle is expected to be between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)- Bharatiya Janata Party alliance and the Congress party. Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab and son of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, heads the SAD. (ANI)

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/capt-amarinder-singh-says-parkash-singh-badal-did-054819916.html

Gujarat HC upholds appointment of Lokayukta by Governor

Ahmedabad, Jan 18 (PTI): The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday upheld the appointment of a Lokayukta by the Governor, dismissing the Narendra Modi government's petition against the decision.

Justice V M Sahai, who was given the task of hearing the petition challenging the appointment of a Lokayukta following the split verdict of a division bench, said: "I could not agree with Justice Sonia Gokani of the division bench on the points of difference, which were referred to me."

In his verdict, he said: "I concur with the views of my brother judge Akil Kureshi." Kureshi had upheld as "constitutional" the appointment of a Lokayukta, an office created to check corruption in government.

"Hence, the government petition is dismissed", the court said.

Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal had appointed retired Justice R A Mehta to the post of Lokayukta on August 25 last year. The post had been lying vacant for eight years prior to that.

Chief Minister Modi had gone all out to oppose the appointment of Lokayukta by the Governor for "bypassing the state government". The government had challenged the appointment the very next day in the High Court and had also unleashed a political campaign against the Governor.

Earlier, on October 11, a division bench of the High Court had given a split verdict on the appointment issue. While Justice Kureshi had upheld the decision of the Governor, Justice Gokani had quashed the warrant of appointment issued by the Governor terming it to be unconstitutional.

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/gujarat-hc-upholds-appointment-lokayukta-governor-000000391.html

Monday, January 9, 2012

Rahul Gandhi accuses Mayawati of ill governance

Ballia, Jan 10 (ANI): Accusing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati of ill governance, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi said that the former has failed to develop the state and would not be able to do so in the future.

Addressing a gathering here, Gandhi asked: "Have you ever seen Mayawati visiting any village in the state in the last five years? Has she ever sat with a family in the village and dined with them? She has never connected with the people in the state."

"Have you seen her drinking the same water that you intake in your village? How does she plan to develop the state without being connected with its people? She has developed magical elephant in Lucknow that eats public money," Gandhi said.

He also accused the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav of keeping mum on the entire reservation issue.

"Have any previous chief ministers in the state spoken openly or done anything about reservation? When Mulayam Singh Yadav got to know that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is about to talk on reservation, he chose to remain silent. Even he did the same when mediapersons asked him to say on the same issue (reservation)," said Gandhi.

Gandhi further urged the people of the state to vote for change by casting their vote for the Congress party.

"We promise to change Uttar Pradesh. The people of state has wasted 22 years believing in other parties, this time we will change the face of the state and work for the benefit of its people at large I urge that give a chance to the youth in our party to work for your welfare," he said.

Uttar Pradesh will elect a new 403-member state assembly in March, and the poll results are expected to broadly indicate trends for 2014 general elections. (ANI)

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/rahul-gandhi-accuses-mayawati-ill-governance-054541437.html

UP polls: Noida authorities yet to get orders for covering Mayawati's statues

Noida, Jan 9 (ANI): As the deadline for the Election Commission's directive to cover the statues of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and her party symbol, the 'elephant', erected at parks and other public places across the state in recent years draws near, Noida State Development Authority officials are in a fix as they are yet to receive orders in this regard.

"No letter of permission has been received from the administration. We have not got any letter. We are a construction agency, we are conducting a meeting right now and when we get our orders we will cover all the statues," said Arvind Trivedi, Manager, State Development Authority.

"That is the order of the state government. If they ask us to cover the statues, we will cover them. If they don't want to cover them, we will not wrap them," he added.

Ahead of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission decided to cover the statues of Chief Minister Mayawati and her party symbol, the 'elephant', erected at parks and other public places across the state in recent years.

Last year, Mayawati had inaugurated the 33-acre park named after B. R. Ambedkar in Noida.

The park was built at a cost of Rs. 650 crores, and has statues of elephants, B. R. Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram and Mayawati. (ANI)

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/polls-noida-authorities-yet-orders-covering-mayawatis-statues-120029658.html

Mayawati will meet same fate like Saddam Hussein, says Azam Khan

Lucknow, Jan 8 (ANI): Senior Samajwadi Party leader, Azam Khan on Sunday said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati would meet the same fate like Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein.

Khan slammed Mayawati for misusing funds to erect statues of herself and her party symbol, elephant.

"The elephants and the statues of Mayawati are now being covered. When we had seen the fall of Saddam Hussein's statue then it was also covered. We do not know what the future holds but when the statues of Mayawati, which she believes stands in the heart of the people, will fall then a good time for the state would start," said Khan.

Chief Election Commissioner of India, S.Y. Quraishi had ordered to cover the statues of Mayawati and her party symbol elephant, which are placed in numerous parks and memorials built by the government in Lucknow and Noida, before the seven-phase assembly elections begin in the State on February 4.

Quraishi's decision came after a slew of complaints from opposition parties. (ANI)

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/mayawati-meet-same-fate-saddam-hussein-says-azam-123302828.html

Aarushi case: Rajesh Talwar to remain on bail till Feb 4

New Delhi, Jan 9 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Noida-based dentist Dr. Rajesh Talwar, the main accused in the murder of his teenage daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj, would remain on bail till February 4 and face trial.

On Friday, the Supreme Court had rejected a separate petition filed by the Talwars, requesting it to overrule the verdict of the Ghaziabad court that ordered the CBI to make them the main accused in the case.

The apex court refused to intervene but said that its decision did not reflect any judgement on their alleged involvement in the teen's death.

The investigation in the case was initially carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Police, which had arrested Aarushi's father on May 23, 2008.

Rajesh Talwar was granted bail in 2008 after the CBI had filed a closure report on the twin murder case citing insufficient evidence. The court, however, rejected the closure report and asked them to face trial in the case.

Aarushi, 14, was found murdered under mysterious circumstances in her parents' Jalvayu Vihar apartment in Noida, May 16, 2008. Their domestic help Hemraj's body was found on the flat's terrace a day later. (ANI)

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/aarushi-case-rajesh-talwar-remain-bail-till-feb-090701409.html